Garza lands dream jobBeing a police officer was a lifelong dream for Travis Garza. Garza, 26, has been a patrol officer with the Russellville Police Department (RPD) for more than two years but said he wanted to be a cop since the second grade. When he was a student at Sequoyah Elementary School, officers talked to his class about law enforcement during Drug-Free Week and even brought along a miniature police car complete with flashing lights. "It intrigued me," G...

City Corp. seeks $71 million over 6 yearsThe Russellville City Council and City Corp. board of directors heard general manager Steve Mallett spell out a proposal that will generate $71 million over the next six years for water and sewer capital improvements. The bulk of the money will come from bond issuances, but the water utility also recommended an increase in water and sewer rates. What does this mean to the average City Corp. customer? Nearly an additional $5 per month, or $60 a...

Gibbons to serve state boardLITTLE ROCK — A local attorney was elected to serve on the 2015 Arkansas Prosecuting Attorneys Association (APAA) Board of Directors. Prosecuting Attorney David Gibbons represents the Fifth Judicial Circuit, which includes Pope, Johnson and Franklin counties. Gibbons was selected to be a board member on the 2015 Board of Directors. The APAA Board of Directors is composed of seven elected prosecuting attorneys — board president, vice president,...

Russellville volunteer honoredKatherine “Kitty” Carswell of Russellville received the 2014 Arkansas Outstanding Certified Long-Term Care Volunteer Ombudsman Royce Haigwood Award. The award was announced in late 2014 and honors only one volunteer for the state. Carswell has visited nursing home residents as a certified volunteer ombudsman since 2010. “I just really like it,” Carswell said. “Being in a wheelchair, I really understand the needs of the people, and I want to ma...

Spencers: Theatre of Illusion to perform in Russellville Feb. 28Prepare to be mystified as Spencers: Theatre of Illusion makes a stop at The Center for the Arts, in Russellville, at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 28. This is not your run-of-the-mill magic show; and the Spencers are not your typical magicians. The Spencers carry a lot of equipment in their 65-foot customized truck and trailer, but a rabbit and a top hat are not in the inventory. Kevin and Cindy Spencer, known professionally as The Spencers, are a...

Committee considers alternatives to parking deckThe Downtown Parking Deck Committee discussed a possible alternate plan during a called meeting Thursday. Chairman Doug Skelton suggested the committee consider a surface parking downtown in a nearby location instead of a parking deck. He said the parking surface could still relieve the city's parking problem while saving a lot of money. "One thing it will do, it will substantially cut back on cost," Skelton said. He estimated a parking surfac...

Memphis green lights power line, some in Arkansas opposeMEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Tennessee Regulatory Authority (TRA) on Tuesday unanimously approved an application from Plains & Eastern Clean Line for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity and to grant the company the authority to operate as a wholesale transmission-only public utility in Tennessee. "We appreciate the TRA's review of our application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity," Clean Line Energy President Michael ...

Turf Plan to stay in-house for nowDirector Mack Hollis told the Russellville Recreation and Parks Commission during its meeting Tuesday that it needs to consider more economical alternatives to a proposed $100,000 Turf Plan. He said the City Council took no action on the plan because of funding issues. "Don't get me wrong, I visited with them [councilmen] and they're for it," Hollis said of turf improvements. "... They're for a plan if we can find the funding." Hollis said tha...

Civic club invites marchers to 'Bridge the Gap'The Pink Rose Arts and Civics Club will host the 15th annual "Bridging the Gap" program/march to honor Martin Luther King Jr. on Saturday at the New Prospect Missionary Baptist Church in Russellville. The program will kick off at 9 a.m. with doughnuts, coffee and hot cocoa before the featured speakers begin at 9:30 a.m. The event is free and open to the public. "We would like to share with the community the memory Dr. King would want us all to...

Jewish, Muslim students join to rebuild tornado-torn townsVILONIA (AP) — Jewish and Muslim students are partnering to help rebuild two Arkansas towns that were ravaged by a tornado last year. The Jewish Disaster Response Corps announced the initiative Tuesday to help recovery efforts in Mayflower and Vilonia. The JDRC is a New York-based nonprofit that helps communities across the country recover from natural disasters. Under the partnership, Muslim and Jewish students will work together to rebuild h...

Election Day underwayElection Day for the District 16 State Senate race is underway and polls will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at six locations throughout Pope County. Republicans Gregory B. Standridge, Thomas Akin and Stan Berry are vying for the seat, which was vacated by Michael Lamoureux when he was hired by Gov. Asa Hutchinson as chief of staff. District 16 encompasses all of Pope and Newton counties as well as parts of Boone, Carroll and Van Buren co...

No immediate plans for body camerasThe Russellville Police Department (RPD) and the Pope County Sheriff's Office have no immediate plans to outfit officers with body cameras. "We have cameras in the units [patrol cars] and don't have any immediate plans to get body cameras," RPD Public Information Officer Drew Latch said. New body cameras cost more than $1,000 each. "It's so early in the game," Latch said, noting there is currently no legislation regarding the cameras. "That's ...

Challenge acceptedPOTTSVILLE — The Pottsville School District will host a presentation of Rachel's Challenge at 7 p.m. Jan. 21 at the Pottsville Junior High School. Rachel's Challenge is a national nonprofit organization that encourages replacing acts of violence, bullying and negativity with acts of respect, kindness and compassion. It is based on the life and writings of Rachel Joy Scott, who was the first person killed during the school shooting at Columbine...

New kid on the blockLarry Brown is the new face on the Russellville City Council. Brown ran unopposed for the Ward 4, Position 1 seat on the council and was sworn in Jan. 1. "I had some people in the community approach me about running," he said. "I hope to do well. I hope to be a voice of the people." Brown, 64, was raised in Arizona until his family moved to Marianna when he was in high school. He is the oldest of nine children. Brown was a student-athlete at A...

Dover overcomes red tapeDOVER — The Dover City Council approved a partnership agreement/Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Dover Education Foundation during its meeting Tuesday for $300,000 worth of improvements to JP Lovelady Park that are nearly complete. In December, the council tabled discussion of the Partnership Agreement/MOU until aldermen had a chance to review it. On Tuesday, all present councilmen voted to approve the agreement. "I have no problem w...

Pope County JPs oppose power transmission lineThe Pope County Quorum Court approved Thursday its first resolution of 2015, which stated justices of the peace are opposed to the construction of the Plains and Eastern Clean Line power transmission line across Pope County. Since last year, the for-profit private company Clean Line Energy Partners LLC has proposed to construct a high voltage direct current (HVDC) across the state of Arkansas — specifically, across northern Pope County and nor...

Gibson: County makes progress within budgetPope County is working toward several goals for 2015 including improvements, purchases and upgrades, and is on track to stay within its budget. "I'm really pleased that we continually make progress and live within our budget," Pope County Judge Jim Ed Gibson said. "We ended the year with carryover so we could get 2015 kicked off. We didn't have to use any of our surplus investment, so we certainly had a good year." The county funded improvemen...

Dover approves 3 percent raisesDOVER — The Dover City Council approved the city's 2015 budget, which included a 3 percent raise for all full-time city employees, during its regular meeting Tuesday. "We really didn't know for sure if we were going to be able to do that, but we put the figures to it and it worked out," Mayor Pat Johnson said of the raises. "As long as we can do that, I'd like to do that." Alderman Chris Loper said he was encouraged by the budget. "Generally s...

Russellville City Council OKs $3 million for road projectThe Russellville City Council voted during a special meeting Tuesday to appropriate $3 million to the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD) Weir Road construction project. Alderman Bill Eaton told the Finance Committee that when he was mayor, the AHTD had told him it would need the funding for the city’s share soon. The project will improve Weir Road to four lanes with a center turn lane from Hob Nob Road north to State Highway...

Russellville City Council tables talks on Alliance agreement A primary reason the Russellville City Council called a special meeting Tuesday was to discuss its agreement with the Arkansas Valley Alliance for Economic Development (AVAED). However, a Pulaski County Circuit Judge’s ruling may have put a temporary halt to economic development funding — in Russellville and most likely throughout Arkansas. After discussing Monday’s ruling that stated Little Rock and North Little Rock must stop paying their re...